Welcome to the official CQUniversity Student Blog – CQUniLife. This blog follows the experiences of a diverse group of CQUniversity students from different countries, studying various programs and at various campuses throughout Australia.

CQUNI SPOTLIGHT – Featuring Belinda Goodwin

PhD candidate Belinda Goodwin has had considerable success both as a research student and employee of CQUniversity. Not only did she recently hand in her PhD thesis, but she also took out first place in the recent CQUni Three Minute Thesis contest, with her piece on why gamblers eat more sweets. Previously a Psychology lecturer at the Bundaberg campus, Belinda is now back home on the Gold Coast, preparing for life’s next big adventure.

What was a recent highlight of your life?

I took a trip to Indonesia recently to celebrate handing in my PhD thesis. The highlight of this trip was being served cocktails whilst swimming in an infinity pool on the edge of a cliff that overlooked a surf beach.

What was the moment that made you choose your career?

My mechanic told me “you need to get a good job and buy yourself a new car”, so I enrolled in Psychology at CQUni. I don’t recall making any specific career decisions after that, it all just unfolded before me.

Who was the last person to make a difference to your life, and how?

My PhD supervisor, Dr Matthew Browne. I never expected to get this far! It’s incredible how much one can achieve with the right guidance and encouragement.

What do you love most about your role?

My favourite thing about working in research is getting the data from a study back and analysing it. I love that feeling of ‘discovering’ something new.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I would increase peoples’ compassion towards themselves and others. The world would be a more peaceful place if we were all more forgiving and tolerant. I’m not sure I am doing anything ‘world changing’, but perhaps through researching and educating people about human behaviour, I can make a very teeny, tiny contribution towards this.

This weekend is free – what would you do?

Sleep in! Take my dog, Gatsby, to the beach. Call my friends and go hunting for good coffee, food, and wine. Catch a comedy show or some live music. Curl up on the couch and watch Netflix… in that order.